Heart-to-Heart: Shulk and Caterpillars
by TrueSapphire
Summary: Shulk finds Olimar and his Pikmins tending the garden. During Olimar's research, he noticed something wrong when it comes to Shulk and caterpillars. [One-shot and no spoilers. Readable for everyone].


**First started on September 28th, 2014.  
****Replaced on July 12th, 2016.**

* * *

**Shulk's canon trivia on caterpillars comes from a Heart-to-Heart conversation in _Xenoblade Chronicles _titled "The Legend of the Spiders."**

* * *

One of the areas Shulk did not check during his time here was the garden section. When he walked into it, he awed to see many types of unique flora. As usual, outdoor experiences were different than being indoors. Shulk saw several colorful small creatures working around the garden. He recalled that they were Pikmins from a veteran Smasher named Olimar. The Monado wielder concluded that Olimar was somewhere in the garden. It did not take him long enough to find Olimar, which he was taking notes on a big green bush with big leaves.

As he approached the young captain, he suddenly remembered the possibility of a certain bug within his area. He hoped that particular bug was not in this garden.

* * *

_Heartbreaking - The Ugly Duckling_

"Hey, Olimar!" Shulk said, which surprised Olimar.

Olimar waved and smiled. "Oh! Hi, Shulk! I never expected you to be here."

"I haven't checked this garden. What are you doing here? Taking notes?"

He nodded. "Yes!" He turned to the bush. "Do you see this particular bush here? Some of these leaves have caterpillars!"

"C-caterpillars?" Shulk saw Olimar let one caterpillar on his red glove.

Olimar widened his smile. "Yeah! Check out this small critter! It has a beautiful shine and vigor! It's a healthy one for sure."

"Oh... Yeah... I see..."

Olimar stared at Shulk's face. "Is something wrong, Shulk? You looked a bit on edge. Oh, I know!" He scanned at the caterpillar and Shulk. "You love caterpillars!"

**Four small hearts lowered**

Olimar laughed in a carefree manner. "All these caterpillars on this bush... No wonder you look so nervous! I bet you can barely contain your excitement! Here, I'll even hand you this little critter." He showed the caterpillar closer to Shulk.

"What?! Absolutely not!" Shulk's yell frightened Olimar, the caterpillar on Olimar's hand, and some of the Pikmin around them.

"Wh-wh-what?"

"It's the complete opposite! I have a fear of caterpillars!"

"S-seriously?"

"I'm serious! Just...seeing these remind me of the caterpillars classified as Caterpiles back in my colony. Although, those Caterpiles are more frightening that the ones here on the bush."

"That's a weird phobia."

**Four small hearts lowered**

"What?! What are you saying?!" Shuk asked.

"It's just that...that... I was expecting you would have a common phobia like spiders."

"My best friend, Reyn, has arachnophobia. And what about you? Surely you must have a fear of something!"

Olimar contemplated, recalling his past adventures. "You know, come to think of it... During my treasure expedition underground, I found a hideous treasure that looked like a giant aquatic monster! My poor heart was beating like crazy until I realize it was just an ugly yellow statue. I felt like I wanted to go back home immediately."

"Um... What's this ugly yellow statue?"

"We called it the Rubber Ugly, but it's also known as a rubber duck."

"A rubber duck?!" Shulk gawked at the captain. "You were scared of a rubber duck? You can't make fun of me if that's what you were scared of!"

**One big heart raised**

Olimar sighed in shame. "I... I guess I can't argue that. We both have strange phobias. Sorry..."

* * *

_Net Loss/Gain - Caterpile_

"Hey, Olimar!" Shulk said, which surprised Olimar.

Olimar waved and smiled. "Oh! Hi, Shulk! I never expected you to be here."

"I haven't checked this garden. What are you doing here? Taking notes?"

He nodded. "Yes!" He turned to the bush. "Do you see this particular bush here? Some of these leaves have caterpillars!"

"C-caterpillars?" Shulk saw Olimar let one caterpillar on his red glove.

Olimar widened his smile. "Yeah! Check out this small critter! It has a beautiful shine and vigor! It's a healthy one for sure."

"Oh... Yeah... I see..."

Olimar stared at Shulk's face. "Is something wrong, Shulk? You looked a bit on edge. Oh, I know!" He scanned at the caterpillar and Shulk. "You love caterpillars!"

**Four small hearts lowered**

Olimar laughed in a carefree manner. "All these caterpillars on this bush... No wonder you look so nervous! I bet you can barely contain your excitement! Here, I'll even hand you this little critter." He showed the caterpillar closer to Shulk.

"What?! Absolutely not!" Shulk's yell frightened Olimar, the caterpillar on Olimar's hand, and some of the Pikmin around them.

"Wh-wh-what?"

"It's the complete opposite! I have a fear of caterpillars!"

"S-seriously?"

"I'm serious! Just...seeing these remind me of the caterpillars classified as Caterpiles back in my colony. Although, those Caterpiles are more frightening that the ones here on the bush."

"How frightening?"

**Four small hearts raised**

"They're much bigger than these small caterpillars, and they also have outer spikes and menacing small teeth! They're roughly the size of a log. To make it worse, they are even bigger Caterpiles that are the size of a beast. One particular Caterpile in my colony was called Verdant Bluchal. Also, toppling these Caterpiles while they squirm helplessly really gives me chills. And did you know that Caterpiles can spin toward their enemy vertically?"

Olimar gasped in fright "S-spin vertically? That's crazy! It's almost as crazy when I first fought a caterpillar-like creature that can spit rocks!"

**One big heart raised**

"Spit rocks?!" Shulk scratched his head. "Caterpillars really are strange bugs."

* * *

_Net Gain/Loss - Regrets_

"Hey, Olimar!" Shulk said, which surprised Olimar.

Olimar waved and smiled. "Oh! Hi, Shulk! I never expected you to be here."

"I haven't checked this garden. What are you doing here? Taking notes?"

He nodded. "Yes!" He turned to the bush. "Do you see this particular bush here? Some of these leaves have caterpillars!"

"C-caterpillars?" Shulk saw Olimar let one caterpillar on his red glove.

Olimar widened his smile. "Yeah! Check out this small critter! It has a beautiful shine and vigor! It's a healthy one for sure."

"Oh... Yeah... I see..."

Olimar stared at Shulk's face. "Is something wrong, Shulk? You looked a bit on edge. Oh, I know!" He scanned at the caterpillar and Shulk. "You're afraid of caterpillars!"

**Four small hearts raised**

"Um, are you okay, Shulk? I am right, aren't I?"

"Y-yeah... I do have a fear of caterpillars."

"Whoa, really?" Olimar's eyes popped out in astonishment. "How did it happen?"

"Back home, when I was a kid, I have my best friend named Reyn. One time, Reyn secretly hid a caterpillar in my sock drawer. I opened my sock drawer without knowing and... Yeah..."

"I... I think I get the picture."

"Because of that, I have this phobia of caterpillars. So I decided to play a prank back at him. I found a spider that would fit in Reyn's shoe and hid it in. Reyn put his foot in and freaked out to see a spider in his shoe. Now he has a fear of spiders."

"Well, your friend deserved arachnophobia."

**Four small hearts lowered**

Shulk shook his head. "No... You're wrong. It's because of my silly action that Reyn has arachnophobia. I regretted doing that prank to him. I even tried to apologize him after seeing him angry."

"Oh... I-I take back what I said At least your friend isn't scared of shoes. I probably would have."

"Yeah... I'm kinda surprised Reyn and I are still friends after all that."

Olimar put up a small smile. "It must be nice to have such a loyal friend. In the end, you two are like peas in the pod."

**One big heart raised**

Shulk smiled back. "Yeah, I guess so. I think Reyn thinks like that too."

* * *

_Heartwarming - All in the Past_

"Hey, Olimar!" Shulk said, which surprised Olimar.

Olimar waved and smiled. "Oh! Hi, Shulk! I never expected you to be here."

"I haven't checked this garden. What are you doing here? Taking notes?"

He nodded. "Yes!" He turned to the bush. "Do you see this particular bush here? Some of these leaves have caterpillars!"

"C-caterpillars?" Shulk saw Olimar let one caterpillar on his red glove.

Olimar widened his smile. "Yeah! Check out this small critter! It has a beautiful shine and vigor! It's a healthy one for sure."

"Oh... Yeah... I see..."

Olimar stared at Shulk's face. "Is something wrong, Shulk? You looked a bit on edge. Oh, I know!" He scanned at the caterpillar and Shulk. "You're afraid of caterpillars!"

**Four small hearts raised**

"Um, are you okay, Shulk? I am right, aren't I?"

"Y-yeah... I do have a fear of caterpillars."

"Whoa, really?" Olimar's eyes popped out in astonishment. "How did it happen?"

"Back home, when I was a kid, I have my best friend named Reyn. One time, Reyn secretly hid a caterpillar in my sock drawer. I opened my sock drawer without knowing and... Yeah..."

"I... I think I get the picture."

"Because of that, I have this phobia of caterpillars. So I decided to play a prank back at him. I found a spider that would fit in Reyn's shoe and hid it in. Reyn put his foot in and freaked out to see a spider in his shoe. Now he has a fear of spiders."

Olimar frowned. "How could you do that?!"

**Four small hearts raised**

"Because of you, Shulk, your friend has arachnophobia!"

Shulk looked down in shame. "Y-you're right. I won't deny it because it's the truth. It's my fault. But that was when we were kids, so we don't act like our past selves."

"Yeah. You've grown up." Olimar set the caterpillar back on the leaf. "You know, I was almost done researching these caterpillars. After that, I'm moving on the next species here in this garden."

"Oh, is that so?"

"I heard you're a scientist."

"A weapon scientist, but I also like to learn many things. I also researched the Monado back in those days."

"Do you have an interest in plants by chance?"

"They're a bit interesting. The vegetation here reminds me of my home in Makna Forest."

Olimar smiled. "Well, in that case, I could use some assistant. Would you like to help me?"

**One big heart raised**

Shulk nodded with a smile. "As long as it doesn't involve caterpillars, I'm willingly to help you, Olimar."

* * *

**Shulk [Green Square Affinity] Olimar  
Two researchers**


End file.
